Session 20: Early Career Scientists: Pitch Session 

Wednesday, 4th December 4.30PM AEST | Plenary session

Early Career Scientists from Australia and the Asia Pacific Region pitch their visionary ideas for the research infrastructures the world will need by 2050. These researchers, deeply connected to current RIs in their countries, will present ambitious, future-focused concepts across a diverse range of disciplines. It’s a unique opportunity to hear from the next generation of leaders, who will one day guide us toward groundbreaking RIs that address emerging challenges and unlock new frontiers in research. ​

Moderator

Dr Graham Wright combines an interdisciplinary PhD from The University of Edinburgh with an MBA from the Warwick Business School and 16 years’ experience leading advanced microscopy core facilities. As the Director of the Research Support Centre within Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR), Graham is a passionate proponent of core facilities to enable and enhance scientific research, by providing world-class, operationally optimized, expert-run facilities, sustainably. With partners from Singapore’s research ecosystem, Graham founded SingaScope – a Singapore-wide microscopy infrastructure network, part of Global Bioimaging (GBI). Together with Kerry Thompson (Galway), Graham co-chaired the GBI Working Group on Imaging Scientist Career Paths.  

Panellist

Inês Pinho is a Coordination Manager at EMPHASIS, the European Research Infrastructure for Plant Phenotyping. With a background in Biology, Inês aims to facilitate research and help researchers achieve impressive results. She is actively involved in the European Research Infrastructures scene and envisions expanding her involvement to a more international setting. Inês believes that research infrastructures are a powerful way to elevate science to new heights.  

Panellist

Dr Ben Norton is the Senior Technical Manager for Griffith Sciences at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Ben oversees the technical operations of Griffith Sciences’ broad teaching and research capabilities, encompassing the fields of engineering, aviation, information technology, and environmental, biological, chemical, material, and physical sciences, as well as the core facilities that support research in these fields. 

Panellist

Dr Fiona Whelan has extensive expertise in structural biology and structure/function research as an independent fellow at the University of Adelaide. Whelan was recently seconded to establish a cryoTEM facility at Adelaide Microscopy, supporting development of research methodology, grant preparation and basic imaging; through to building high-performance computing pipelines for single particle analysis, structure determination and publication.  

Panellist

Laurence Lejeune held the position of Scientific Platform Manager for ten years, first at the Lady Davis Institute and then at the CHUM Research Centre. Subsequently she worked as an independent consultant, providing support in microscopy and cytometry (training, quality control, validation) to clients in academia, hospitals, and the private sector. Laurence has also been deeply involved in professional associations, starting as a founding member and later as President of the Canadian Cytometry and Microscopy Association. In 2016, she co-founded the Canadian Network of Scientific Platforms (CNSP), where she served as Vice President. Her current role as a PhD candidate in Science, Technology, and Science (STS) at The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) reflects her commitment to understanding the role and impact of scientific platforms within the academic research ecosystem. 

More speakers to be announced soon